Electrically-operated clock.



H. GILLETTE. ELEGTRIGALLY OPERATED CLOCK.

APPLICATION FILED MAB..11,1908. I Patented Sept. 14, 1909.

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PNOTO-UNOGRAPMERS. wlsumcnm l1 H. GILLETTE.

ELECTRIOALLY OPERATED CLOCK. APPLICATION FILED MAB.11,1908.

933,899. Patented Sept. 14.1909.

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H. GILLETTE. ELEOTRIGALLY OPERATED GLOUK.

APPLICATION FILED MARJI, 1908.

' Patented Sept. 14, 1909.

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HARLEIGH GILLETTE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ELECTRICALLY-OPERATED CLOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 11, 1908.

Patented Sept. is, 1909.

Serial No. 420,324.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, l-lnnnnrorr GILLETTE, citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of lllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrically-Operated Clocks; and I do hereby declare the follow ing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a novel construc tion in an electrically operated clock, the object being to provide a device of this character which will keep accurate time and is adapted for very large clocks such as tower clocks and clocks used for advertising purposes which are required to be very large and conspicuous, and consists in the features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating my invention: Figure -1 is a dia grammatic view showing the mechanism operatin g the minute hand of the clock and the means controlling the same. Fig. 2- is a view showing the electromagnetic motor employed. Figs. -3- and a are views of an electromagnetically operated circuit breaker employed and illustrating respectively two positions thereof. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of a rotary switch employed. Fig. -6 is an end elevation of a modified form of construction of the latter. Fig. -7 is a detail central vertical section on the line a a of Fig. l-. Fig. -S

is a detail section on the line a";c of Fig 5) Fig. 9- is a view similar to Fig. 1- showing a modified form of construction.

The present invention relates more particularly to the means employed to impart movement to the minute hand of the clock including the specific arrangement of electric circuits controlling and actuating said means in order to render the clock less sensitive to atmospheric influences and prevent short circuiting of the motor circuit thereby. The said means include the specific adaptation of the motor employed whereby momentum of the latter and the driven mechanism to move the hands farther than desired is entirely avoided.

The hands of the clock. being exposed, are liable to become coated with ice and sleet in stormy weather and the load upon the actuating mechanism is thereby increased and rendered far more variable than under normal conditions. Furthermore, the mechanism of large clocks is more exposed to the weather than that of smaller clocks as the casings thereof can hardly be made as thoroughly .weather and dust proof. This is particularly true of the advertising clocks which generally are located in exposed positions on the roofs of buildings. Hence, delicacy of any part of the operating mech anism must be obviated without, however affecting the accuracy of its operation. To obtain these results I have devised mechanism consisting of an electromagnetic motor *1 comprising electromagnets and a vibrating armature -2 actuated thereby against the action of a spring 3 and actuating a circuit make-and-break device -4 of well known construction. The said armature 2- carries a pivoted pawl 5 engaging a ratchetwheel --6 rigidly mounted on a shaft 7* carrying the worm -8 which meshes with andengagcs the worm wheel *9 actuating the minute hand -10 of the clock. Said motor 1- while in operation. rotates said shaft -7 to turn said worm wheel through a given arc during each revolution of said shaft. *7 there is loosely disposed a rotary switch '1l consisting of a druinequipped at its ends with annular flanges 12- and 13, the flange 12 having insulation l4edisposed in its periphery atone point. A brush --1 disposed in the motor circuit bears upon the periphery of said flange 12 and when in contact with said insulation -14 opens the motor circuit. The flange 13 is equipped at a given point relatively to the location of said insulation M in the flange 12 with a single projecting ratchet tooth -16-. Projecting from said drum at one end is a pin 17 which is adapted to be engaged by an arm -18 on the shaft to rotate said drum with said shaft. Disposed in operative relation to said drum --1lis an electromagnetic shifting device consisting of electromagnets 19- and a pivoted armature -20 adapted to be actuated thereby the latter carrying a pivoted pawl 2lmain tained normally in contact with the periphery of said flange -13- by means of a spring 22 and adapted to engage said tooth -l6 to rotate said drum 11- sufficiently to pass the insulation -14 from On said shaft.

tion to the relative disposition of the brush 15 and the normal posit-ion of the pawl 21- that said tooth 16, will have just passed said pawl when the insulation lat comes into contact with the brush *15 The circuit through the magnets -19- is controlled by a circuit closer actuated by the shaft -2 t of the escapement wheel -25 and consisting in the instance illustrated, of an arm 26- on said shaft which is disposed in one side of the line, and which engages a brush 2T, disposed in the other side of the line, the said circuit being closed once during each revolution of the shaft -24- and preferably maintained closed during an interval just sutficient to insure energization of said magnets 19 long enough to impart a full stroke to the arma ture Thus each time that the circuit through the magnets -19- is completed, the armature -20 moves the drum ll to close the motor circuit. The motor now operates to rotate the shaft 'T, and the arm lS of the latter engages the pin -l7- and thus causes said drum to be rotated with said shaft until the motor circuit is again broken by contact of the insulation *1r with the brush 15-. In the instance illustrated the insulation let is pro vided at only one point in the periphery of the flange 12 of the drum 11 and therefore, the circuitafter being closed by the initial movement of said drum by the armature 20, must receive additional movement from shaft 7 to make a complete revolution of the drum before the circuit is again opened.

While I have illustrated asingle insulation 14 and tooth l6- respectively, the number of the same may be increased as shown in Fig. (S-, such increase necessitating, as will be obvious, other corresponding changes in the mechanism which I have omitted from illustration as being superfluous.

It is essential, of course, that the motor circuit be maintained normally closed at the make-and-break device a, this being accomplished by normally maintaining the armature 2 at the outer limit of its movement by means of the spring, 3. It will be noted that the latter also actuates the ratchet wheel -6, this being very important to prevent short circuiting of the motor circuit in the event that the clock should become clogged with ice and the resistance thus exceed the power of said spring 3, the pawl 5- in that event engaging a tooth of said wheel 6 which will hold the armature in position to maintain the makeand-break device open. The use of the worm and worm wheel to actuate the minute hand is also a very essential feature of the invention as such gearing locks the hand against revolution by high winds and other causes and renders the operation of the clock less delicate and more easily accurate inasmuch as there is no lost motion in the gear train as is the case where other forms of transmission are employed.

The motor employed and the manner of gearing the same to the shaft -7 constitutes a very important feature of the invention as such motor acquires no momentum nor does said shaft so that the instant the motor circuit is opened movementstops. Hence, .the hand is moved through a given are and no farther. This also insures proper position of the circuit closing means employed to again close the motor circuit at the proper interval.

The electric circuits are as follows in the master clock. Brush 2? to battery 35, wire 36 to electromagnets 19, wire 37 to shaft 24 and arm 26. In the secondary clock, from battery 38 to electromagnets 1, wire 89 to brush 15, thence through drum 11 to shaft 7 and one of its bearings, thence through wire 40 to armature 2, thence through make and break 4 and wire 1-1 to battery 38.

In Fig. 9 I have illustrated a modified form of construction in which the motor -1- driving the shaft 'T is disposed in the same circuit as the electromagnetic shifting device 19 20. In said construction the drum 1l is loosely disposed on the shaft 2 f and is rotated by the latter in the manner hereinbefore described. The insulation 28 on the flange 12 of said drum 11 extends over the greater portion of the periphery of said flange so that the circuit is maintained closed by the latter during a short instead of a longer interval. The shifting device 19 20 operates in the reverse direction, the spring 29 actuating thearmature to open the circuit. On the shaft 7 is an arm 30 which contacts with a spring or brush -31 to close the circuit through the shifting device 1920 said circuit being normally open. As said drum is rotated the motor circuit is closed as soon as the exposed portion 32 of the flange 12 contacts with the brush -33, said circuit remaining closed until said portion 32 has moved out of such contact. As soon as the motor circuit is closed said motor 1 rotates the shaft 7 and as soon as the arm 30- contacts with the spring or brush 31 the circuit through the electromagnets -19- is closed, thus attracting the armature 20 and raising the pawl -3et carried thereby, said armature retaining this position until the arm 30- passes out of contact with said brush 31 and opens the circuit. Meanwhile the es capement shaft -2at will have rotated the drum -ll to bring the tooth l6 into the path of the pawl -3dso that the in stant the circuit through the magnets -20- is opened said pawl engages said tooth 1( and thus rotates said drum to throw the exposed portion -32 out of contact with the brush -33- thus opening the motor circuit.

in the construction shown in Fig. 9 the circuits are as follows: from the battery 42 through wire 43 to shaft 2%; drum ll to brush 33, wire at to electromagnets 1 through wire to, make and break l and wire 46 to bearing of shaft '7 and thence through wire $7 to battery 6L2. The other circuit is from battery e2, through wire et? to shaft '1" and circuit closer 30-31, through wire 48 to electromagnets 19, through wire at) to brush 33, drum ll, shaft 2%. and wire to battery The modified form of construction is not very practical for the reason that the escapement is forced to do too large part of the work and further beca use the length of the segment -32- would require to be too exactly adiusted with relation to the respect "e speed of the shaft -24- and 7 in order to insure perfect operation. For example, if said segment is too long, the motor will turn the shaft -i"- beyond a complete revolution, and if too short the motor circuit may be opened before the circuit through the magnets -20-- is closed, or before the tooth -1($ reaches the path of the pawl 434 I claim as my invention:

1. An electrically actuated clock comprising in combination a master clock and a y secondary clock, an electrically actuated motor actuating said secondary clock, a cirl cuit controlling said motor, a rotating cir cuit closer controlling said circuit, a second circuit, a circuit closer controlling the same, means interposed in and actuated by said second circuit and operatively disposed relatively to the first-mentioned circuit closer to impart movement to the same, mechanically actuated means operatively engaging said} first-mentioned circuit closer to further acl tuate the same, the movement imparted thereto by one of said means serving to close 1 the circuit through said motor and the movement imparted by the other thereof serving to open said circuit.

In a secondary clock, a motor actuating the same, an electric circuit controlling said motor, a rotating circuit closer controlling said circuit, electrically actuated means controlled by a master clock and imparting movement to said circuit closer to close said circuit, and mechanically actuated means imparting secondary movement to said circuit closer to open said circuit.

3. In a secondary clock, a motor actuating the same, an electric circuit controlling said motor, a rotating circuit closer controlling said circuit, electrically actuated means con trolled by a master clock and imparting movement to said circuit closer to close said circuit, and means actuated by said motor imparting secondary movement to said circuit closer to open said circuit.

t. in an electrically actuated clock, a shaft actuating the hands, a ratchet wheel rigid thereon, a vibrating armature equipped with a pawl actuating said ratchet wheel, electromagnets actuating said armature, a circuit controlling said magnets and being opened and closed by said armature, a traveling circuit closer controlling said circuit through said magnets and operatively disposed with relation to said shaft to be actuated thereby, said circuit closer normally maintaining said circuit open, a master clock, a circuit controlled thereby, a magnet disposed in said circuit, and an armature actuated thereby and operatively disposed with relation to said traveling circuit closer to impart initial movement thereto to close the first named magnet circuit.

5. In an electrically operated clock, a master clock, an electric circuit controlled thereby, electrically actuated means interposed in said circuit, a motor, a circuit controlling the same, circuit closing means controlling the motor circuit. operative connection be tween the said electrically actuated means and said motor circuit controlling means to close said motor circuit when the first named electric circuit is closed, operative connection between said motor and said motor circuit closing means to reopen the motor circuit at a predetermined interval, a shaft actuated by said motor, time indicating hands, and gearing between the latter and said shaft.

in testimony whereof, I have signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HARLEIGH GILLETTE. ll itnesses RUnoLrir lVM. Lo'rz, ALnnni lV. Nnwooatn.

L own- 

